iPhone now has more commercial apps than Windows Mobile

Apple's App Store has reached the 25,000 application mark after adding another …

Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS has been around for nearly nine years now, and in that time a substantial number of applications have been released for it. In fact, Windows Mobile has held the title of the mobile platform with the most applications for a long time. Not anymore, however—Apple's App Store has finally overtaken Windows Mobile as the (commercial) mobile application leader. Or it's at least giving it a run for its money.

The App Store hit the 20,000 application mark in early February, and has continued to gain applications at an impressive rate. Last week, Fortune noted that App Store tracker 148Apps.com showed over 25,000 applications available on the App Store, meaning that the time necessary for the App Store to pick up 5,000 has decreased yet again as developers add applications at a faster rate.

The other side of the equation is the number of Windows Mobile applications. People don't pay quite as much attention to Windows Mobile as they do to the iPhone, but the Global Intelligence Alliance did include it in an analysis of major mobile platforms that was released in late February. The report says that there are "more than 20,000 different types of software" available for the platform, many from third-party sites. Assuming those numbers are true, the App Store has knocked off nine years of Windows Mobile applications after less than nine months, which is quite an impressive feat.

This is an impressive achievement. I do get a little skeptical when they count the raw number of apps, though, when there were something like 5 different flashlight apps available when the App Store launched and I was looking for cool apps for my wife's iPhone. Also, there's all those single title eBook readers that show up in the app store with each title being a distinct download even though reader software is the same for each title that I'm sure inflates the total a bit. I'm curious if the App Store tracker used accounts for those duplicates.

I know that people are going to reference farts and games, but what I find ironic is that this neatly inverts the situation with Mac and PC applications. PC users have long argued that they have more applications and that the quantity produces quality through competition. While Mac users have argued that they have less applications, but the ones they have are more polished solutions. Here we see the opposite. A relatively mature Windows Mobile marketplace and an iPhone marketplace which abounds with inexpensive competitors.

This makes me think of the people who have 1000 "friends" on Facebook.

I can think of two statistics that would be more meaningful: 1. Measure how many apps are "useful". Granted, this would be difficult. 2. Determine how much people are spending on applications for the respective platforms.

This is a useless story. Spend any time browsing around the app store and you'll find maybe a 1 daily useful app in 100 (And that ratio is most likely overly generous). Almost all are gimmick apps. That's not to disparage the actual useful and used apps.

This story couldn't be more of a "pro apple" advertisement imo. Quit devaluing this site with useless news.

Okay, but how many applications do you use everyday? I couldn't find even a single useful application on iPhone. Not to mention about the folks who are developing the applications for iPhone.

How about the security of the applications, in iPhone anyone can acess your personal email, chat, text with a 2 liner application. Can you use iPhone in the office, no it doesn't support Lotus Notes and it’s not fully compatible with Exchange and VPN, forget about that.

Developing and deploying a custom application for a Windows Mobile system is incredibly easy. In one afternoon, a developer can have written a workable application for the platform AND deployed it to any number of mobile... Without having to go through a central registration point.

By contract developing for the iPhone is an exercise of (paperwork-based) frustration with high number delays, obstacles, obscure NDAs, long wait time and subject to the arbitrary judgment by Apple based on rules that benefit no one but Apple. Not counting the fact that you probably should hire a lawyer if you actually intend to make money out of your app.

What does this mean ?

- It's impressive so many people jumped through the hoops to get their apps on the iTune store.- The measurement of the number of available Windows mobile applications on which that article is based is highly dubious.

Originally posted by Abhi:Okay, but how many applications do you use everyday? I couldn't find even a single useful application on iPhone. Not to mention about the folks who are developing the applications for iPhone.

How about the security of the applications, in iPhone anyone can acess your personal email, chat, text with a 2 liner application. Can you use iPhone in the office, no it doesn't support Lotus Notes and it’s not fully compatible with Exchange and VPN, forget about that.

Wow its a great phone but not for a business user like me.

I don't want to start a holy war here, but what is the deal with you iPhone fanatics? I've been sitting here at my freelance gig in front of a iPhone (a 3G w/128 Megs of RAM) for about 20 minutes now while it attempts to copy a 17 Meg file from one folder on the hard drive to another folder. 20 minutes. At home, on my Pentium Pro 200 running NT 4, which by all standards should be a lot slower than this iPhone, the same operation would take about 2 minutes. If that.

In addition, during this file transfer, Netscape will not work. And everything else has ground to a halt. Even BBEdit Lite is straining to keep up as I type this.

I won't bore you with the laundry list of other problems that I've encountered while working on various iPhones, but suffice it to say there have been many, not the least of which is I've never seen a iPhone that has run faster than its Wintel counterpart, despite the iPhones' faster chip architecture. My 486/66 with 8 megs of ram runs faster than this 300 mhz machine at times. From a productivity standpoint, I don't get how people can claim that the iPhone is a superior machine.

iPhone addicts, flame me if you'd like, but I'd rather hear some intelligent reasons why anyone would choose to use a iPhone over other faster, cheaper, more stable systems.

There are so many different applications on the iPhone that perform so many different functions, that your statement is obviously simple anti-iPhone hyperbole.

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Okay, but how many applications do you use everyday? I couldn't find even a single useful application on iPhone. Not to mention about the folks who are developing the applications for iPhone. Wow its a great phone but not for a business user like me.

Originally posted by Octagon:How about the security of the applications, in iPhone anyone can acess your personal email, chat, text with a 2 liner application.

This is not true, where have you heard of anyone doing this?

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I've been sitting here at my freelance gig in front of a iPhone (a 3G w/128 Megs of RAM) for about 20 minutes now while it attempts to copy a 17 Meg file from one folder on the hard drive to another folder. 20 minutes. At home, on my Pentium Pro 200 running NT 4, which by all standards should be a lot slower than this iPhone, the same operation would take about 2 minutes. If that.

The fact that you are comparing a phone to a desktop computer says enough, that there is no need to continue.

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I won't bore you with the laundry list of other problems that I've encountered while working on various iPhones, but suffice it to say there have been many, not the least of which is I've never seen a iPhone that has run faster than its Wintel counterpart, despite the iPhones' faster chip architecture. My 486/66 with 8 megs of ram runs faster than this 300 mhz machine at times. From a productivity standpoint, I don't get how people can claim that the iPhone is a superior machine.

The iPhone and WinMo development platforms are very different, so different that they cannot really be compared the way you have attempted to compare them.

The iPhone's development tools and apps are far more advanced that what is available for WinMo.

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iPhone addicts, flame me if you'd like, but I'd rather hear some intelligent reasons why anyone would choose to use a iPhone over other faster, cheaper, more stable systems.

This is an interestingly loaded question. Why would people all over the world overwhelmingly choose the slower, more expensive, and less stable iPhone over the faster, cheaper, more stable WinMo?

Seeing as how WinMo's marketshare has drastically fallen against most other phones. You really don't think that their could be some problem with WinMo?

You seem to have left out the possibility that the iPhone offers a more attractive platform for developers. Outside of that yeah its a complete mystery why developers would so overwhelmingly choose to go through all the hassle to develop for the iPhone.

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Originally posted by Fulgan:Developing and deploying a custom application for a Windows Mobile system is incredibly easy. In one afternoon, a developer can have written a workable application for the platform AND deployed it to any number of mobile... Without having to go through a central registration point.

By contract developing for the iPhone is an exercise of (paperwork-based) frustration with high number delays, obstacles, obscure NDAs, long wait time and subject to the arbitrary judgment by Apple based on rules that benefit no one but Apple. Not counting the fact that you probably should hire a lawyer if you actually intend to make money out of your app.

What does this mean ?

- It's impressive so many people jumped through the hoops to get their apps on the iTune store.- The measurement of the number of available Windows mobile applications on which that article is based is highly dubious.

If Abhi can t find a an app to use daily that is his problem. I personally use omnifocus, yelp, facebook, flashlight, squirrel, maps, fitphone, iTalk, 1password, goalkeep DAILY. for useful freaking thngs which make life easier.

Then there a host of other apps I uses several times a week such as shazam, easywriter, camera, trapsfer, netnewswire, wjhatever ghames strikes my fancy. AND then there the apps i dont need weekly, but at a moments notice when that ti e should arise which are just freakin handy to have.

Saying there is nothing to use daily is really not true at all unless of course nothing makes you happy.

Originally posted by Fulgan:Developing and deploying a custom application for a Windows Mobile system is incredibly easy. In one afternoon, a developer can have written a workable application for the platform AND deployed it to any number of mobile... Without having to go through a central registration point.

Yes, but the difference is that the App store provides a central clearinghouse where 15 million (or more) people can see your app every day.

Your WinMo app has much less visibility.

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By contract developing for the iPhone is an exercise of (paperwork-based) frustration with high number delays, obstacles, obscure NDAs, long wait time and subject to the arbitrary judgment by Apple based on rules that benefit no one but Apple.

It's the same development model for the consoles; Wii Shop, PSP/PS3 stores, XBox live arcades, etc, as well as medium based games.

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Not counting the fact that you probably should hire a lawyer if you actually intend to make money out of your app.

What does this mean ?

- It's impressive so many people jumped through the hoops to get their apps on the iTune store.- The measurement of the number of available Windows mobile applications on which that article is based is highly dubious.

Well that largely comes down to personal taste. Mac and Windows developers have debated back and forth which is better. But clearly developers have been able to create apps for the iPhone that are more sophisticated than equivalents available for WinMo.

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Hahah... no. Windows Mobile might suck, but don't think for a minute that Xcode and Objective C is anywhere near as sophisticated as Visual Studio and .NET.

Developing and deploying a custom application for a Windows Mobile system is incredibly easy. In one afternoon, a developer can have written a workable application for the platform AND deployed it...By contract developing for the iPhone is an exercise of (paperwork-based) frustration with high number delays, obstacles, obscure NDAs, long wait time and subject to the arbitrary judgment by Apple based on rules that benefit no one but Apple. Not counting the fact that you probably should hire a lawyer if you actually intend to make money out of your app.

And yet, despite those horrendous, near-impossible obstacles, just 9 months after opening, the App Store has over 25,000 apps. It's a miracle.

quote:

What does this mean ?

It means you're in denial but you're good at rationalization. Be proud.

Originally posted by Octagon:I don't want to start a holy war here, but what is the deal with you iPhone fanatics? I've been sitting here at my freelance gig in front of a iPhone (a 3G w/128 Megs of RAM) for about 20 minutes now while it attempts to copy a 17 Meg file from one folder on the hard drive to another folder.

Interesting.

Where, exactly, did you get that "iPhone," you know, the one with the "hard drive" and "folders" and 128 MB of RAM?

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In addition, during this file transfer, Netscape will not work. And everything else has ground to a halt. Even BBEdit Lite is straining to keep up as I type this.

Even more interesting.

Where, exactly, did you find "Netscape" and "BBEdit Lite" for the iPhone?

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My 486/66 with 8 megs of ram runs faster than this 300 mhz machine at times.

"300 mhz," eh?

Well, I could go on, but why don't I come right out and say it: You have no idea what an iPhone is, do you? You've never seen one, let alone held one in your hands, have you?

Originally posted by nafhan:This makes me think of the people who have 1000 "friends" on Facebook.

This makes me think of the people who think Facebook is a topographical mapping of their real-life friendships, as opposed to a loose network of acquaintances, classmates and kids from the neighborhood. Losers.

In both the Facebook and App Store cases these numbers say nothing beyond superficial appeal, so why bother? I guess "business" magazines need something to write about that doesn't make them want to leap from tall buildings.

Originally posted by nafhan:This makes me think of the people who have 1000 "friends" on Facebook.

This makes me think of the people who think Facebook is a topographical mapping of their real-life friendships, as opposed to a loose network of acquaintances, classmates and kids from the neighborhood. Losers.

In both the Facebook and App Store cases these numbers say nothing beyond superficial appeal, so why bother? I guess "business" magazines need something to write about that doesn't make them want to leap from tall buildings.

Actually, it says many things beyond superficial appeal.1) It indicates how many developers there are (more developers usually mean more applications)2) It indicates how large the install base is (larger install bases attract more developers usually)3) It indicates how efficient/effective the distribution system (poorly run stores/storefronts push both developers and customers away)4) It indicates the strength of the platform (matching WinMo in 9 months)5) It indicates the future of the platform (WinMo 6.5, Pre, and RIM App World may slow down but cannot stop this momentum)6) It indicates the success of the platform (more apps is usually an incentive for prospective customers and a reward for existing ones)

Originally posted by OrangeCream:Actually, it says many things beyond superficial appeal.1) It indicates how many developers there are (more developers usually mean more applications)2) It indicates how large the install base is (larger install bases attract more developers usually)3) It indicates how efficient/effective the distribution system (poorly run stores/storefronts push both developers and customers away)4) It indicates the strength of the platform (matching WinMo in 9 months)5) It indicates the future of the platform (WinMo 6.5, Pre, and RIM App World may slow down but cannot stop this momentum)6) It indicates the success of the platform (more apps is usually an incentive for prospective customers and a reward for existing ones)

I think you just aren't looking very hard.

All good points, but just one slight correction re: 4): Exceeding by 25% is more than mere matching. Apple's touch platform has absolutely blown the doors off the WinMo platform in terms of developer and application support.

Originally posted by nafhan:This makes me think of the people who have 1000 "friends" on Facebook.

This makes me think of the people who think Facebook is a topographical mapping of their real-life friendships, as opposed to a loose network of acquaintances, classmates and kids from the neighborhood. Losers.

In both the Facebook and App Store cases these numbers say nothing beyond superficial appeal, so why bother? I guess "business" magazines need something to write about that doesn't make them want to leap from tall buildings.

You're kidding right? You do realize that it takes a lot of effort to produce a mobile application. Businesses (and individual developers) are not going ot do it unless they feel like it is worth it (where 'worth' is whatever they care about). This tells you that enough people thought it was worth it to produce that many apps. Maybe that means they think they'll make money. Maybe they think it's because they'll get a large audience. Maybe it's because the platform attracts them and they want to try it out.

Regardless, in a very short span of time, Apple was able to get to a point that one of its major competitors took years to get to. That indicates a whole lot of interest in the phone (and appstore) from both developers and users. Developers wouldn't care if users weren't rewarding them. And users wouldn't care if developers weren't making good enough apps for them.

Personally, i can tell you that i do not think i would be able to get the same number of users that i have on any other platform currently. My android numbers *pale* in comparison to my Apple numbers. And that's on a platform that is free and open and easy to develop for.

To me, stating a platform has X amount of apps versus Y amount of another platform is like comparing megapixels on cameras (mine has 10MP! But mine has 12, much better!) when we all know it is the overall quality and the ability to find the right Apps is where the most importance lies. Frankly, the number really is meaningless by itself. Sure there are a lot of developers working on the iPhone/iPod Touch platform. However, the overall quality of most of the Apps, the ability to sift through to the better ones, and closed nature of the platform itself (whether the approval process, limited hardware access, multitasking) severely limit the platforms long term viability. Sooner or later Apple is going to have to start better organizing and opening up their system if the don't want the new software ecosystem to choke. What happens when there are 50000 Apps. 100000 Apps. How is anyone going to sort through all of that, especially through iTunes? (God, I hate that program, slow, cumbersome, but the only way to really sync my iPod Touch.) Apple may become a victim of their own success.

I think you got that backwards. Worldwide Apple has like 16% of smartphones, almost 29% in the US.

That is definitely not the total market share numbers, which are the most important when talking about software. The entire amount of sold phones is way more important than quarterly sales percentages. That simply is becuase as a developer you are serving the entire market, whether it being blackberries, Andrioid, iPhones, Windows Mobile or Symbian. To compare quarterly sales figures is disingenuous without looking at the total picture.

I think you got that backwards. Worldwide Apple has like 16% of smartphones, almost 29% in the US.

That is definitely not the total market share numbers, which are the most important when talking about software. The entire amount of sold phones is way more important than quarterly sales percentages. That simply is becuase as a developer you are serving the entire market, whether it being blackberries, Andrioid, iPhones, Windows Mobile or Symbian. To compare quarterly sales figures is disingenuous without looking at the total picture.

Neither is perfect, but if we are talking about app sales then quarterly numbers are very relevant due to Apple's App Store. Even if WinMo's installed base is 10x Apple's, only a small fraction of them are being served by developers whereas 90% of iPhones are targeted by developers.

How is a developer going to sell an app to a WinMo5 user?

The App Store lets the same developer target all iPhone, iPhone 3G, and both iPod touch models.